RUSH: At some point in all of this, you have to form your own opinion of things and then things that you see get measured against what you’re pretty sure of, which will then help you to accept or reject them. Now, the-Trump-Russia collusion story, you could easily say to me, “Well, there isn’t any proof that he didn’t do it.” Well, we’re not out here proving negatives. I didn’t start this. They did. They made the allegation that the reason this election happened was because Trump cheated, but we find out it was Hillary that was working with the Russians.
It was Hillary that crafted this dossier and had it written. It’s opposition research. This is known. This is not under dispute. It is known. So it’s also known that they haven’t been able to produce a shred in two years of any evidence that Trump worked with the Russians to steal the election from Hillary Clinton. Yet, I would venture to say that people who only read the New York Times or Washington Post or watch CNN or MSNBC are convinced that Trump stole the election. I look at that and say, “That is brain-dead.” That is denying reality, and it’s reality and it’s reality and self-confidence being subordinated to political desire, partisan desire.
CALLER: Innocent until proven guilty. I know —
RUSH: The FBI in fact did everything they could to shield her. We know this. It’s not arguable. We have the texts from appreciate Strzok and his paramour. We know that they were doing everything they can — Comey was doing everything — because they thought she was gonna be elected. They didn’t want to be on her bad side. They were doing everything they could to exonerate her from doing anything wrong. We know this.
It’s just a question of whether you have the confidence to believe it based on how much it conflicts with your political/ideological position and what you want to be true. All of this… Rachel, here’s the thing. What I’ve just described for you, all this, is what I go through with practically everything story before I say anything about it on the radio. Now, I’m able to do this in matter of three minutes when I’m doing show prep and working, because I have a lifetime of work of collecting knowledge.
I have a knowledge base built on 60 — well, let’s say 50 — years of intense paying attention to news events and everything else that happens in my life for 50 years. I’m 67. I also am blessed with a good memory. But more importantly, Rachel, I know my heart. I know what my core beliefs are. I know exactly what I believe, and I’m able to admit when I’ve been wrong, and I do not want to be wrong. It doesn’t help me, it doesn’t promote me, it doesn’t accomplish a thing to be wrong.
All I’m saying is, since there isn’t a central place that you can go that is untainted in the media for news — straight, factual news… In fact, I don’t think there’s any straight, factual news anymore. I don’t think the media today is news. I think most of the media today is about damaging Trump while, as a secondary objective, advancing the Democrat Party’s agenda. In fact, I know that’s true. See, this is the thing: I know that.
And knowing that when I read their media and watch their TV, is that principal premise confirmed? Yes. Every day. It is confirmed. When I watch the way they go after Trump, when I watch the way they don’t go after Hillary, when I watch the way they circle the wagons to protect each other and themselves, there’s no doubt. You can do the same thing. You can get to the point where you just have learned enough and you’re confident enough of what you believe that you can read anything and be open to it being true or false.
You don’t need to be totally dependent on one news source for the truth because you can’t anymore. That you have to do yourself, and living and amassing a database of knowledge combined with your own core beliefs — and then your opinions which derive from all that — you’ll be in fine shape. And you can be the arbiter of what’s right and wrong as it relates to you. As long as you’re open about it.
If you think you’re right about something and something happens to show you’re wrong, admit it. If you’re wrong about something and then something happens to show you’re wrong, you gotta be willing to say, “Oops! I was wrong. The other side’s right.” This is called being curious. It’s called being objective. It’s having a dedication to getting as close to the truth as you can, and that’s up to all of us individually. So I really thank you. This has been a great, great, great, great question. What are your primary news sources that you look at now?
CALLER: I do watch CNN occasionally. A lot of what I make out is — I’m sorry — from Twitter. It’s from what I read. It’s from the highlights. And although I wish that that wasn’t the way it was, time sometimes doesn’t allow me to do as much research as I wish I could.
RUSH: Well, you know what? This is my point: use your common sense and what you've learned in life. I appreciate the call. I really do.